"To succeed in America you have to be competitive in the economic marketplace, and that message is not getting through to many Americans. The government cannot provide prosperity, you have to make it happen. In Baltimore, the economic situation is dire and the crime problem in the African-American precincts is a scandal. Most black citizens are hard-working people looking for opportunity, but the rioting has diminished that opportunity big time. For example, Baltimore is a big convention city. 29 meetings were set for this year, but conventions are starting to cancel. The Baltimore Orioles, a big revenue driver, played a game today in front of zero spectators, with nobody allowed into the park. So all the vendors, many of them young people, will lose a payday. And they'll lose three more paydays over the weekend. Irresponsible criminals in Baltimore have once again hurt good folks. The city will take years to recover, meaning more poverty, more law breaking, and more confrontations with the police. Inner city policing is perhaps the most difficult job in the country. That being said, there is no excuse for brutality, and any kind of police violence has to be adjudicated. In Baltimore the elected officials are primarily black, as is the leadership of the police department, so the race card is hard to play. Nevertheless, we hear some dumb things from politicians. City Councilman Carl Stokes said children have been 'marginalized' and it's wrong to call them 'thugs.' But if the children have been marginalized, it is largely the fault of their parents - not the country, not the police. Again, the city has been run by black politicians and the Democratic Party for decades. So who exactly is marginalizing the children, forcing them to commit violent crimes? Who?"

The Factor asked for reaction from prominent black Baltimoreans Rev. Jamal Bryant and Clarence Mitchell. "You are offering skewed thinking," Bryant protested. "There is a lack of opportunity, less than par educational status and no economic thriving. There's no opportunity to get out of that construct." Mitchell, meanwhile, pointed to a few bright spots among the ashes. "Right now our concern is whether we will make it through the night without more violence. But what has not been widely reported is that 2,000 volunteers came out yesterday to help clean up the mess after the riots. There are more good people than bad." The Factor agreed with that assessment, but nevertheless lamented, "The city of Baltimore has been set back decades, the economic deprivation will get worse because of what happened this week."

By most measures, black Americans have lagged economically in the Obama years. Connie Rice and Alveda King entered the No Spin Zone with their analysis. "You can blame Obama for a lot of things," Rice said, "but you also have to blame Reagan and Clinton for the mass incarceration strategy. The biggest factors are incarceration, the impact of technology on the labor force, the lack of jobs, and the lack of focus on eliminating poverty." The Factor reminded Rice that tough jail sentences have led to a decline in crime in poor neighborhoods, saying, "Crime rates have dropped dramatically since mass incarceration came into play, so hundreds of thousands of lives have been saved." King, perhaps searching for a rose among the thorns, lauded the Baltimore mom who slapped her rioting son. "We saw the mother that got her son away from the rioting, I thought that was great. Her kids have a chance because she loves them. We are doing something in the African American community, we care about our children."

In the wake of Baltimore's riots, Hillary Clinton has called for reform of the criminal justice system. The Factor asked Republican Andrea Tantaros and Democrat Nomiki Konst to evaluate. "One in three black men is being arrested for minor drug arrests," Konst contended. "These communities are targeted and after these men are imprisoned they can't get jobs and these homes are being broken apart. We should invest in these communities." But Tantaros ridiculed Hillary Clinton's prescriptions for reform. "It's classic Clinton to come out and talk about a problem but not give a solution. Is she calling for a decriminalization of these minor crimes, or is she saying that people are being wrongfully arrested? She called for an end to incarceration, which will not help cities like Baltimore."

Former Rhode Island Lincoln Chafee, who is considering a primary challenge to Hillary Clinton, elaborated on his current strategy. "I'm in an exploratory phase now," he said, "but it's very likely that I'll make it official. I've been governor of a state and during my time in the Senate I served on the Foreign Relations Committee. I'm very passionate about what's happening internationally." Chafee accused Hillary Clinton of exhibiting poor judgment, both in her vote to endorse the invasion of Iraq and in her current troubles. "We're hearing about these Clinton Foundation donations that came at the same time she was making decisions as secretary of state. And the decision to go into Iraq weakened our standing in the world, we lost our credibility."

The Factor asked Charles Krauthammer whether Hillary Clinton will be damaged by the questions swirling around the Clinton Foundation. "This will have an impact on her campaign," Dr. K said, "because it solidifies the impression people have. The Clintons live on the edge, they make their own rules, and they take the money wherever they can. I think the media will cover this for quite a while, and any Republican candidate who's afraid to challenge her and bring this up should not be the nominee." The Factor theorized that a Republican may be reluctant to directly criticize a female candidate: "John McCain and Mitt Romney did not challenge Barack Obama, they didn't go after him at all. The same thing could happen this time around."

Dennis Miller began his weekly observations with the rioting in Baltimore. "I don't understand the new rubric," he groused. "I watched a CVS being destroyed, and then the yield of that is that they played a baseball game in an empty stadium. I'm stuck in the old world where the cops would show up and say, 'Don't burn this store down.'" Miller also opined on Bruce Jenner, who has declared that he is a female. "I've met him a few times and he's the nicest man, so I presume he's going to be a great gal. The key to me is that he's a good spirit. I owe Bruce Jenner what I owe everyone about their sexuality, which is my utter indifference. I'm happy he's happy."

Ken Tallier, Nashville, TN: "Thugs will never respect cops. My wife was born in Harlem and worked her way to a successful life. The key word: worked."

Cathy Reilly, Long Valley, NJ: "I was planning to visit Baltimore's beautiful inner harbor with my children this summer. No more."

Cecil Fredi, Las Vegas, NV: "Bill, I have been watching you for many years. You are a bit snooty but a wealth of knowledge."

The syndicated show Jeopardy, now on the air for 31 years, is one of the few TV offerings that actually imparts knowledge to its viewers every single night.